Improvement in feed-water heaters



SIMEON A. GOODIVIN, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE'HALF I-IIS RIGHT TOJACOB O. JOYO-E, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN FEED-WATER HEATERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2E,93Lii, datedDecember 17, 1878; application filed May 24, 1878.

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, S. A. GOODWIN, of the city of Dayton, Montgomerycounty, Ohio, have invented an Improvement in Feed-Tater Heaters forLocomotives, of which the following is a speeiiication:

The object of this invention is to provide a convenient and ei'ticientmeans of heatin g feedivater for locomotive-engines by a portion of theexhaust-steam, and to accomplish this by simple. inexpensive, anddurable appliances,

that shall not be unsightly objects inthe locomotive or in the Way, andthat Will require but little attention from the engineer.

There is a small eleva-ted heating-chamber, of novel construction,situated in rear ot the smoke-stack, and connected by pipes of propersize with the two pumps of the locomotive and with the exhaust-pipes, insuch a manner that one pump is employed to pump the Water from the tankof the tender into the head of the heater, where it comes into contactwith and is heated by a portion of the spent steam of the engines, Whilethe other pump is used to torce thc Water so heated into the boiler; andthere is such a combina-tion and arrangement of parts that at thepleasure of the engineer all the Water may be shut oft' from the heater,and both pumps be used to force cold Water direct from the tank to theboiler, or only one, and either may be so used; or aportion only ot' theWater from one pump may be delivered to the heater, and the rest to theboiler.

Itei'eirin g to the accompanying drawings, tin which similar letters ot'reference indicate like parts in all the iigures, Figure lis anelevation oi' a section of a locomotiveboiler, cX- hibiting the heaterin rear of the stack or chimney and its connection with the pump ot' theright-hand engine. Fig. 2 is asimilar View ot the heater and itsconnection With the pump of the engine on the left-hand side. Fig. 3 isa front view, representing the pipes connectin g the exhanstpipe of eachengine With the head of the heater. et is an enlarged vertical sectionof the heater, omitting some appliances for the more e'ectual mixing ofthe steam and water, which will be described and claimed in anotherapljilication.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section ot' the check-valve in the supply-pipe ofthe left-hand pump.

The heater H consists of a long narrouT tubular heating-chamber, la.,Within a case ot' similar form, the two forming an annular passage forthe cold Water, which enters at m from pipe A. The tube h. hasconverging sides, as shown in Fig. 4, and is perforated with small holesnear its upper end. Itconnects with pipe B at q, and the exhaust-steamenters it through the elbow, (Shown in dra-Wing at em.) This heater isattached to the chimney by suitable brackets.

Referring to Fig. 1, S represents the ordinary supply-pipe on theright-hand side of the locomotive,leadin g from the tank of the tenderto the pump. l? is the pump; a., the forcepipe, and c its check-valve,through which the water, inthe present practice, is delivered to theboiler. A is a. pipe which I add to the present system, connecting theforce-pipe a with the heater, for the purpose of delivering the waterinto the heater, instead of to the boiler, as heretofore. o is a valvein this pipe, to entirely or partially close the passage to the heaterwhen desired.

In Fig. 2, the present supply-pipe, pump, force-pipe, and checlvalve onthe left-hand side of the locomotive are represented by the same lettersas the corresponding parts on the right-hand side. In Fig. 1, I haveadded the pipe B, to conduct the heated Water from the heater to thesuction side of that pump, Where it connects with the supply-pipe S atn.

Both iigures show the exhaust pipes by dotted lines.

Fig. 3 exhibits the exhaust-pipes E E of the two engines, and the mannerin which I prefer to connect them with the heater by means of the pipese c', uniting in the pipe e", which enters the heater at t.

There is a check-valve, W, in the supplypipe S on the ri ght-han d side,which opens toward the tender. The ofiice of this valve Will behereinafter explained. It is shown in section in Fig. 5. This is anordinary horizontal check-valve, with this difterence: it has a bosscast on its under side, through which passes a screw-threaded spindle,fr, the object ot which is to raise and hold the valve off its seatwhenever it becomes necessary to eliminate said 4valve from the system.

Operation: rEhev pump on the right-hand side of the locomotive takes thewater in the usual manner; lout instead of delivering it into theboiler, it passes by the new pipe A into the heater, and up the annularspace around the tube 71J to near its upper end, where it is sprayedthrough numerous small holes into said tube, where it comes into contactand is mixed with a portion of the exhaust-steam entering said tube, asbefore described.

As the steam and water come together, the former is suddenly condensed,forming a partial vacuum, into which fresh steam rushes with great velocity,thereby in surin g ath orou gh mixture, and a rapid and efficientheating of -the feed-water in a very sm all space.

Experiment has demonstrated that condensation takes place much morerapidly in a -chamber devoid of atmospheric air.v

In this form of construction, whatever air comes in with the water isdriven by the steam into the water descending the tube, and is carriedalong with it, and finally forced by the pump with the water into theboiler.

The heated water falls through the heater into'pipe B, and is conductedto the supply Si at fn, on the suction side of the left-hand pump, whenit is taken up by that pump and deliv- -ered into the boiler throughpipe c', in the usual way.

There is a check-valve at some point` (as at W) in the supply-pipe S ofthe left-hand pump, as heretofore described, and the usual lazy-cock onthat side and the tank-valve are left open. Now, when the pumps areworking properly this check-valve remains closed;

'but should the left-hand pump become disabled or fail to force into theboiler the water as fast as the other pump raises it into the heater, itwill not overiiow the same and endanger the engine when drawing up tostations or ruiming without steam 5 but thc superior head of water inpipe B or in the heater Will cause it to lift the said check-valve andflow back to' the tank of the tender.

When for any reason it is desired to use the water directly from thesaid tank through the pump on that side, the checlnvalve is raised andheld from its seat by means of the screwthreaded spindle heretoforedescribed.

, The quantity of water required for the boiler is regulated by thelazy-cock on theright-hand Should the right-hand pump become dis- Aabled or fail to furnish sufficient water, the check-valve W may be heldup, as heretofore described, and the left-h and pump be brought intorequisition.

Should the left-hand pump become disabled, the right-hand can be made toforce the water direct to the boiler, as in the old practice, by simplyclosing the valve o in pipeA.

The heater may be situated inside the chimney, or to the right or leftof it, or in any other convenient place on the locomotive 5 but I pre-`fer the rear of the chimney, as shown.

The check-valve W may be dispensed with, in which case the lazy-cock orthe tank-valve on that side must, of course, be closed ;4 but it is'much better to use such a valve to prevent accident by Water owin g intothe cylinder to break it.

It is obvious that this combination and arrangement of the pumps withthe heater is quite independent of the size, form, or position of thelatter. I have demonstrated by experiment that the heatin g-chamber neednot be larger than three and one-half inches in diameter and twenty-fourinches in height.

I claim as my inventionv 1. The combination of the two pumps of alocomotive-one to deliver the water to an elevated heater, and the otherto force the heated water into the boiler by means of thepipeconnections A and B, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the heater H with the two pumps and with theexhaust-pipe of one or both of the engines of a locomotive, substantially as described.

3. In the feed-water heater herein described, the check-valve W in thesupply-pipe S,when arranged as and for the purpose specied.

4. The combination of the valve o in pipe A with the feedwater heater Hherein described, constructed and arranged as and for the purposespecified.

5. The feed-water heater H, consisting of the narrow tube h within asurrounding case, substantially as described.

S. A. GOODWIN.

Vitnesses:

It. M. MARSHALL, E. A. BARBER.

